Crematorium temple workers overwhelmed by number of coronavirus dead arriving - Delhi

The heat is intense, the grief is palpable - Fires just do not stop burning in the Indian capital, Delhi

The coronavirus dead are piled up in vehicles and ambulances and rickshaws - as India continues to set daily global records for new infections.

In one, there are three bodies wrapped in white cloth, string tightly wound round their necks, waist, knees and ankles.

Crematorium temple workers seems overwhelmed with the number of coronavirus dead arriving and there's much frenzied activity.

The deceased are thoroughly sprayed with disinfectant while still outside, by a cremation team wearing hazmat suits, goggles and gloves.

They're then carried or lifted on stretchers from the street and into the next staging area. There are rows of deceased with exhausted funeral workers, volunteers and relatives hovering close by or sitting on benches which are hugging the walls.

Every few minutes while we're here, a body is stretchered through into the makeshift crematorium which has been created on open land next door.

That, too, is now full with burning pyres which form such an important part of the ancient Hindu funeral ritual. Young boys almost run in, pulling piles of wood behind them on cycle carts and tip their loads onto fresh patches of soil for yet more to be built.

They're furiously building pyres to keep up, but the rapid pace means these sudden and shocking funerals are also hasty, often lonely affairs.

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And yet they are crowded too - by rows of parallel pyres with individuals or couples all forced by events into swiftly saying their goodbyes to loved ones.

Few relatives are allowed in because of the coronavirus rules and partial lockdown in the capital. But there are so many funerals going on at once here that it is a far from private event - and there is talk of expanding further into the street if the level of deaths remains as high. 

Everywhere, rich or poor Indians are taking matters into their own hands to try to stay alive.

There were queues outside a small business which normally sells bottled gas to welders and contractors. Now, their customers are those who have COVID in the family or community.

The owner told us he thinks some people are hoarding, but he doesn't ask any questions and doesn't have any reasons. Everyone in the crowd had their own oxygen bottles, and everyone we talked to had ill relatives or neighbors for whom they were purchasing.

The cylinders are now worth more than gold dust, and they're being sold on the black market for four times their usual price.

Coronavirus cases are increasing at an alarming rate in Indiana capital, Delhi.